Gudina Tumsa to most people is known as a theologian, and while that was his main purpose and passion, due to his holistic view on life he believed that the gospel is directly tied to/ influences daily life and human structures. As is seen when he writes, “The Gospel of Jesus Christ is God's power to save everyone who believes it. It is the power that saves from eternal damnation, from economic exploitation, from political oppression, etc. Because of its eternal dimension the gospel could never be replaced by any of the ideologies invented by men throughout the centuries.” (Witness and Discipleship Pg.76). What leads many to today to limit or catagorize Gudina into one section of life is the misunderstanding that a person can’t be more than one thing. Gudina was not a one trick pony, but rather a multifaceted instrument of God, and because God engulfs all aspects of life, His instruments that are made in his likeness have the same capability within them.
What led Gudina Tumsa to be so involved in politics from a theological perspective was the interaction he chose to have with society. As Rev. Yonas Deresa writes, “He preached or prayed for in plain language. But he also included other concerns that beset the society in which he lived. These included social, political, economical and other factors.” (Life and Ministry Pg.12).This quote shows why Gudina believed the Church and a Christian must be involved in the society. Many Chrsitans may disagree with Gudina Tumsa’s beleif that theology is involved with politics, but a possible response to this disagreement by Gudina Tumsa has the capablitly to change the way the church and christans apporach politcs in the present and the future is, “The history of the people of God in the Old Testament starts with the liberation of a group of slaves from oppression. Nothing is more political than this biblical narrative.” (Witness and Discipleship Pg.70). In conclusion, to understand Gudina’s political involvement we must return our attention to his holistic theology. Gudina understood politics played a role in religion and that an individual of faith could not completely tear themselves away from society, he shows this when he writes,“A political life is not worthy of existence, uninvolvement is a denial of the goodness of creation and of the reality of incarnation.” (Witness and Discipleship Pg.70).
While many Christians think that economics is outside of the jurisdiction of God, once again Gudina Tumsa’s holistic view differs from that of the masses. He claims that the Church and Christians should have their own economy. “We believe that the economy of the Christian community should be seen in a global perspective and the aim should be to arrange for a more fair distribution of resources. Here the Church should even lead the way towards this goal.” (Witness and Discipleship Pg.126). Gudina was not a man of theory who just spoke about the Church's economic growth but he put it into action as he planned for the Church to become self-reliant in its ministry.
Gudina was a man who saw Christ as the Alpha and the Omega, not only in the spiritual sense but also on Earth. Gudina understood that the Earth was Christ's dominion meaning God’s Kingdom led and still leads earthly kingdoms. This is seen when Gudina applies his holistic approach and called on Churches and Christian’s to build and develop the economy of their country as the Churches (God’s Kingdom) and countries (Earth’s Kingdom) economies are intertwined, “It is a well-known fact that the economic life of any church is tied up with the economic life of the country where the church is placed.” (Witness and Discipleship Pg.139). Gudina was raised by poor farmers in an imperial system. An oppressive system that preyed on the so called “peasants”. His stance on landrefrom and the letter he along with ECMY members wrote to the Ethiopian parliament in 1973 was a plea to better the economic lives of the Ethiopian people. To conclude, Gudina knew that a prosperous economy could only be developed if it was developed in a model that mirrored a Christian or Church economy, and the Christian economy is based on God’s will for the people within it; that will is justice and equality. Thus, he made it his mission and the Churches to begin involving themselves in economic development and become the necessary paradigm for society so that there can be balanced economic growth.